Memory Quest
by Jedi Jelsa777
Summary: Vert Wheeler has a strange feeling that his reality isn't his true reality, is it true?
1. Chapter 1

*So this story is in honor of my brother. Back in the day we used to make up stories all the time together, late at night when we were supposed to be sleeping. Almost anything we were watching at the time got thrown into the mix, making for some pretty awesome combos. At the time we didn't even know the word fanfiction, let alone thought about writing it down (though there were times I wished we had recorded cause they were so epic!). I think that is why I turned to this site, my brother and I haven't done a story in years now, the last time we did one he even thanked me for pushing us to do so many of them (I loved them and couldn't wait to do them, whereas he felt there was always time to do them later), since we no longer had time anymore he found the memories just as precious as I do. I know I have many open stories right now, but I really like sharing this one with you. It's partly based on one old theme we used a few times, and partly a new creation, but I lately have been feeling the sadness of missing this time with my brother more and this is my way of expressing it.

Bro, if you find this, thanks for the amazing nights, for the amazing battles we won, for our favorite superheroes forming a band together, for sharing my passion for storytelling, and for letting me always be the best characters XD This story is for you, when it's finished I will be showing it to you, hope you like it.

BTW I am terrible at writing accents, so forgive my attempts to do so.*

Vert Wheeler couldn't help shaking that something wasn't right. He looked around and tried to figure out what it was exactly that was bothering him. Sage entered just then, and seeing the troubled look on his face asked, "Is there something the matter Vert?" "Do you ever feel like you don't recognize yourself Sage? Like you honestly don't think the face in the mirror is yours, not the whole I can't seem to find myself thing."

"When I had lost my memories I felt that way I must admit. Why do you ask Vert?" Vert didn't answer her right away, he just stood silently looking at his reflection. Something glimmered in his eyes for a moment, but was gone in the next. He turned to Sage again and asked, "Will you do me a favor Sage? Scan me and see if you can find anything that shouldn't be there."

Sage gave him and odd look, but nodded her head in agreement. She had him lie on a table in the next room and started the process. "If you want me to be thorough, this may take some time." "Be as thorough as you can be please, I need to know." A couple of hours later, Sage had finished scanning Vert and had found something that she felt he must see. Calling him into the room that she had entered after having him lie on the table, she couldn't help wondering how she had missed this when she had scanned him at other times.

Course it was so tiny she almost hadn't caught it this time, good thing Vert had asked her to be so thorough. When he entered she said, "I did find something, right at the base of your skull. It looks to be both a cloaker and a memory suppressor. I can do surgery to get it out if you wish." Sage told them. "How long will that take?" he asked. "A couple of hours tops."

He stood there, thinking about what his next move should be, after a moment finally saying, "Let's wait until tomorrow then. I'll send the rest of Battle Force 5 on a training mission and pizza run, that should keep them away long enough to complete it. Let's keep this between ourselves until then." Sage nodded as he head out to join his teammates for a bit.

Vert looked over at Agura and wondered what would happen once his memories that were being suppressed came back to him. Was there someone waiting for him? He couldn't and wouldn't tell Agura how he felt and until after he got his memories back, it wouldn't be fair to her. Then he happened to think, what if I look so different after the change that none of these guys can accept me after this.

He sighed, hoping it wouldn't come to that. Agura heard the sigh and said, "What's up Vert?" He looked at her, pasting on a smile, hoping she wouldn't see through it as he said, "Not much Agura, I just can't help shaking the feeling that something has got to happen soon to break this calm." "Oh come on man, we have those Red Sentients and Blue Sentients getting along, what else is left for us to even do?" Stanford asked.

Vert smiled and said, "A good point Stanford, I probably am just over thinking things since that's how it's been for so long." "That iz true, but the probability of something happening now iz highly unlikely." said Tezz. "You heard the man, let's go get some za!" Zoom proclaimed. Everyone agreed and Sage waved to them as they rode off, at least she would have some quiet time to bone up on the human body before operating on Vert tomorrow.

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The next day, Vert sent the others out on a training exercise and pizza run as planned. Then Sage prepared him for operation. Right before he went under he said, "I believe in you Sage." For he could tell that she was stressed about doing this. She smiled at him and then as soon as he was out, got down to work. Several hours later she finished stitching up the wound, then left him to come around on his own, noticing the difference in how he looked as she walked out.

When the others got back, she told them that Vert wasn't feeling well and had gone to his room to rest. The others were as quiet as they could be for the rest of the day, before turning in themselves. Once they were all asleep, Sage went back to where she had left Vert and found him just coming around. "How are you feeling and do you remember me?" she asked him.

Vert looked up at her, blinking a few times as if to adjust his eyesight, then said, "Sage? I am feeling better than I have in months, to be honest. I take it you were successful?" "I was, would you like to see what you look like?" she asked. He nodded, before carefully sitting up, noticing that he wasn't wearing his red suit. In its place was a blue, white and orange racing suit, once that he vaguely recalled. As if she understood his questioning look, Sage said, "It may take some time for all your memories to come back to you."

"The cloaker and memory repressor where the most advanced thing I have ever seen, outside of our stuff I mean." Sage continued. She handed him a mirror she had fetched and he picked it up. The face looking back at him was more familiar then the one he had been seeing in the mirror for months now. And as he looked at himself, a hint of a memory came back, "Vert we need to talk." The man saying it was his … dad? Then who was the guy they had met in the realms?

"Sage, I think I need some time alone to think. I'm going to take the Saber out." Sage nodded and said, "Be careful Vert, if the others see you they might think you are a thief who is taking your car." Vert promised he would be careful and managed to successfully get out of the Hub without waking anyone. When he got to what he had come to think of as his thinking spot, he stopped and got out of the Saber.

He was atop one of the buttes that looked out over Handler's Corners, so he sat on the edge, his legs hanging out in open space. Who could have suppressed his memory and changed the way he looked and why? What purpose did it serve whoever it was that did it? Where they using him as an unsuspecting spy on Sage? If not what else could be the reason? And why was it taking his memories so long to come back. The only sure thing in his life right now was his time since he met Sage, so almost 6 months.

Before that, it could all be and was quite possibly was a lie. What about those that they knew in Handler's Corner? Did they have some sort of device that had invoked memories of him? Or were they with the ones who had done it to him? Sheriff Johnson he could maybe see, but Zeke was stretching that thought a bit far in Vert's mind. He stayed at his spot until the sun started to rise, then he headed back to the Hub with no more "new" memories and a lot of explaining to do to the others.

Upon arriving back, he found Sage the only one up. "Go get some rest Vert. Once the others have awaked, I will come and get you." She said. Vert decided to take her advice and went off to his room, still feeling a bit weak from the surgery, though Sage had done a remarkable job. Soon there was a hub of activity in the Hub. Sage waited until the others had started eating before going to get Vert.

She gently shook him awake, and when he did, she said, "It's time Vert." He sighed as he swung his legs off the bed and headed out of his room with Sage. When they arrived in the kitchen, everyone was too busy stuffing their faces at first to take notice, but Zoom suddenly looked up. His eyes widened, but because his mouth was full of food he couldn't say anything, so he tugged on Spinner's shirt.

Spinner turned towards him and said, "What Zoom?" a bit miffed that he had been caught mid bite into his egg sandwich. Zoom pointed at Sage and Vert, which by now he had all the others attention, so they all looked as one to where he was pointing. When they saw Sage calmly standing there with a stranger, they gasped. Agura felt like there was something familiar about him as Sherman asked, "Who are you?" The man smiled and said, "Don't you guys recognize me? Not that I would expect you to, I didn't. It's me, Vert."


	2. Chapter 2

*Thank you to the guest reviewer! I actually have this whole story complete, I was just planning on uploading it on Thursdays, but I may do it a bit more often just because I know someone is actually reading and enjoying this :D*

They all stared at Vert, A.J. probably looking the most confused since he had known Vert since before he had joined Battle Force 5. "You can't be Vert, I've known him for forever!" he stated. Vert gave him a half smile and said, "That may or may not be true A.J. A few days ago I asked Sage to scan me on a hunch. She found a cloaker and a memory suppressor in me, very high tech she said. Yesterday, she took it out and when I awoke that night I looked like this, which once I saw myself in the mirror I know is the true me. I haven't had many memories come back yet, in fact only one, and that let me know that the man who I thought was my father in the Battle Zones isn't."

The other's just continued to stare, until Zoom hesitantly asked, "So what happens now?" Vert frowned and said, "I don't know, there's not much I can do until more memories come back and Sage said that could be awhile according to Sage." Sage nodded her agreement as Sherman said, "What the heck is that outfit even made of?"

For the first time, Sage took a really good look at the clothes Vert was wearing and she gasped! It couldn't be, could it? Everyone now looked at Sage as Vert asked, "What is it Sage?" Sage calmed her racing mind down, as she said, "Remember how I said the Multiverse has many layers? Well there are some that not even we Sentients have ever reached, for they were created by a different power, the Accelerons."

Vert started at that word, as a few new memories started to trickle in. He shook his head feeling dizzy all of a sudden. Agura saw him falter and shouted, "Vert!" as he started to slip into darkness. Sherman and AJ both reacted quickly, catching him so he didn't fall to the ground. Vert collected himself, just barely keeping from passing out, as they led him to a chair. "What happened?" Spinner asked him.

"Some more memories came in, quite quickly, I remember racing to beat Racing Drones to keep them from getting to the Accelerons first. Started doing it when I was sixteen, though we didn't know at the time that it was our ultimate destination." "We?" asked Tezz. Vert nodded slowly and said, "We raced in teams, but I don't remember much about anyone who I raced with just yet."

Sage turned to AJ and said, "AJ, since both you and Vert were either given false memories about each other, or the memories were altered, I would like to scan you so I can see what we are dealing with as far as the others who claimed to know Vert." "Sure, anything to help Vert out." AJ said. He followed Sage out, as she ordered over her shoulders, "You guys should get Vert back to bed, and then take turns sitting with him in case he has another spell."

"I'm fine." Vert grumbled under his breath, but he did as Sage asked of him, leaning on Sherman as he went back to his room. Once he was situated, Agura said, "I'll stay with him for now." The others nodded before leaving Vert's room, though none of them really wanted to. Vert had already fallen into a restless sleep, so Agura just sat there looking at him.

She found herself still attracted to Vert, even finding things she liked about him better when he looked like this rather than the him that she knew. She sighed, not that it mattered much since all he saw her as was a backup leader for when he needed her to be. Vert rested for well over an hour before finally coming to. Agura was still there and she smiled at him as his eyes opened.

"How are you feeling?" she asked. "Better now, thanks." "Good cause Sage has some news for you, if you think you're up to it." She said that last part in a teasing tone. Vert laughed before saying, "As if I wouldn't be." As she helped him to stand, he whispered, "Thanks Agura." Agura looked at him and asked, "For what?" "For not treating me any different now that I look so different, etc." he said.

She smiled and said, "No problem Vert." She helped him out into the other room, lowering him onto the couch as the others gathered around to hear what Sage had discovered. "Once I finished my scan of AJ, I could find nothing like the device in Vert's head or any hint of tampering with his mind that way. So I next went to the device and found that it can transmit false information to both Vert and those around him, about Vert at least. Whoever tampered with Vert's memories obviously couldn't suppress all of his memoires, so they suppressed the important ones to their cause. I think AJ and Vert really did know each other from before, but when Vert got close it gave them both false memories of their time together."

"Iz there anyway to fix that?" Tezz asked. "Once I destroy the device it should take away the false memories that people have been given of Vert. However there is a drawback to doing that." She answered. "And that would be?" asked Spinner. "Well for one, the people here in Handler's Corners may either forget Vert entirely or they may keep the memories of their actual time with him intact, but it will still raise questions. But there is another theory I have that could be even worse." She replied.

"I'm probably going to regret asking this, but what could that be?" asked Sherman. "I think I know." Said Vert, "It could attract whoever did this to me, and without my memories we wouldn't know how to stop them, etc. Some of or even all the people in Handler's Corners could be working for them, my false dad could be working for them, even AJ!" He said that last name in a joking manner, before growing serious again, "So the question is, do we chance having whoever did this to me on top of us, or do we leave the false memories intact for now?"

He looked at AJ, who after a moment asked, "What?" "You are the only one who has false memories of me that I can ask, so are you cool with keeping them for now, until we know who we are up against, or do you need to know?" AJ looked at him like he was crazy before saying, "I know all I need to know about you right now Vert. You're an amazing guy who would do anything for us. I can wait to find out what our true background is for now."

Vert smiled at him, before turning to Sage and asking, "So Sage, what more can you tell me about the Accelerons?" "Are you sure it is wise to try to bring back your memories so quickly Vert? You practically passed out when you remembered like three things at once." Agura asked. "I'll be okay Agura, I just can't shake this feeling that the faster I get them back, the faster I can get to something, though what it is I can't quite remember."

Agura and Sage shared a look, before Agura nodded and Sage said, "Well like us Sentients created the Battle Zones, the Accelerons created what they called the Racing Realms to test human drivers. The first test being, of course, can they actually get to the Racing Realms, for unlike those which use the Battle Keys or the Storm Shocks to enter, the Racing Realms can only be reached when the driver is going three hundred mils per hour."

Vert held his hands to his head as a few more memories came in… someone… Tezla?... had created Nitrox2 to get up to those speeds. He had raced in them with his friends, first to get…. Something… then after that something was taken at a later date to get … more somethings…. He sighed in frustration and said, "More memories came back, but they don't contain anything I call useful to telling me anything about the past." He told them what he remembered and everyone was silent for a moment.

Suddenly Sherman said, "Why don't we look up the name Tezla and see what we can find on the internet!" "Good idea, I vill help you vith this." Tezz said. The two went off to do that while the others waited. They came back shortly and Sherman said, "Well we found a few Tezla's. One was selling puppies, I don't think he is who we are looking for." "Another sells used appliances, for vhat I do not know, he doesn't put his prices up on the internet." Tezz said next.

"The final, and most likely guy out of the lot, is said to be the founder and owner of the Scrim Corporation." Sherman finished. Vert nodded and said, "That's him! He was the one who selected the first few racers, me included. I became a leader of one the teams… Wave Rippers!" That brought back a huge chunk of memories and he told the others about his Deora II, about racing to find the wheel of power and that he loved to surf and skateboard. "One of the guys on the other team was always calling me Surf Rat." He finished.

"There is a lot more to it that I remember, none of it is all that important. I remember Tezla thought that the Racing Realms were a test to own the Wheel of Power, which he hoped with be a pure source of power for our world. But once we got it here and he had translated some, coupled with the fact that he blew out like all the fuses in North America, he agreed with us that it was best to return it to Highway 35, what we called the track since that is where it was near!"

"We should go there and see what we can find!" Zoom said. "What did the translation say Vert?" Sherman asked. "That I can remember easily. Wisdom is a circle, what you receive, you must give back." Sage put a hand on Vert's shoulder and said, "Let's take the Mobi and head to this Highway 35." The others cheered and were really excited until Stanford said, "But what about our cars? We can't possibly take all of them?"

Sage smiled and said, "I have been working on something. It will let me shrink down your cars for easy storage. I was working on it in case we ever need to move from the base in a hurry." "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get going then!" AJ said. While Sage shrunk down the cars, everyone else went and packed up their things. Once they were all ready, they climbed aboard the Mobi and headed out in stealth mode.


	3. Chapter 3

As they passed through Handler's Corners, everyone cast a longing glance at Zeke's. Vert asked Sage to hold up and got the Saber out of its storage. Driving up to Zeke's he ordered a couple of pizzas and nine milkshakes to go. He was soon back in the Mobi and handing out food, much to everyone's delight. Then they were off again towards Highway 35.

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Meanwhile, the Teku, Metal Maniacs, Tezla, and Lani were starting to give up hope of ever finding Vert. It had been six months since they had last seen him, and they had searched everywhere on Earth for him, or at least it felt that way. Without the Wheel and AcceleChargers, they couldn't search the Racing Realms for him, so if he was in there he was as good as lost to them. "Let's swing by Highway 35 one more time looking for him. If he ever pushed his EDR it would have brought him there like it did Sparky." Kurt said.

"And then what? We give up?" asked Lani. "No… Yes…. I don't know. I don't like to think of Vert being out there, not after he helped us get out." Kurt replied. "Vert's tough man, he can take care of himself." Said Nolo, "Someday we will find him, alive." The others nodded and Lani sighed as they drove the Sweeper back towards Highway 35. It had become their mobile base of command, with one car each for the Teku and the Maniacs in it, both built from the ground up by each team. The third car in the space was Tezla's car that he and Lani had used to escape from the AcceleDrome.

The two racing rival teams had come to be very close over the past few months, for which Lani was thankful. There is no way she would have stuck around if they had still been at each other's throats, not even for Vert. She couldn't help but feel like they just weren't going to find him, like he was somewhere out of reach.

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As they headed towards Highway 35, more and more memories came back to Vert. Like he remembered his whole life now, up until he started racing for Tezla. He even remembered joining a street racing team after, just so he could keep racing. If he could only remember what came after that… he remembered that he had raced for Tezla again, but the details remained sketchy. Sighing he went and joined the others up top. They all smiled at him when he entered, and he smiled back, so glad that they were all taking this so well.

Especially Agura. He could have handled it if it were some of the others, but if Aura hadn't… he didn't know what he would have done. "How far are we from Highway 35?" he asked. "Another day or so." Sage replied from her seat at the wheel. They had stuck to back roads so there was less of a chance of someone running into them, literally of course since they were cloaked. Now they were out in the wide open spaces and making better time.

Still the Mobi wasn't made for speed, but it made up for that with the space it offered. At the last town they had passed through they had sent out both Zoom and Stanford for food, since both of their vehicles weren't as unusual as the others, and therefore less likely to drawn attention to them. Still Vert was beginning to wish they had sent Agura or himself with them, because they had stocked up on pizza and powdered milkshakes. They weren't so bad the first few times, but he was starting to want something else, especially for breakfast.

Agura turned to Vert and asked, "So how is the memory game going?" He chuckled and said, "More like a memory quest. It's going, I can remember my life up until I first raced for Tezla, racing for Tezla, and then joining a street racing team after leaving Tezla, with almost complete clarity, but after that is still fuzzy." She looked stunned and said, "A street racer? You?" He chuckled and rubbed the back of his head as he said, "I missed racing a lot."

He had the attention of the others now and Sherman said, "Well that explains why you were strict with Zoom a few times, it because you saw a lot of you in him, you just didn't know it." Vert nodded as Stanford asked, "So, what was the name of this street racing group you were in?" "That is why that time is complete clarity, I feel like the name could unlock so much more… if I could only remember it."

"We could search for reports on street racers, if you can remember where you were racing." Sherman said. "That would be great! It was near my home in California." He gave the name of his town, and Sherman and Tezz once again both got to work. They soon came across a "hidden" site with list of races and who was hosting them.

They started of reading the names in alphabetical order. When they reached a group called the Metal Maniacs, Vert said, "That was a team we raced against often, I remember our leaders had this big rivalry going, something like one blamed the loss of their brother on the other… but I don't remember much else yet, keep going.

Finally they hit Teku and Vert visibly started, stopping them in their tracks. "That's it! I raced for the Teku! Not all of them went with us when we went to race for Dr. Tezla again, but a few did and a few Metal Maniacs as well." He could now remember his time up until he went off to race Gelorum completely as far as he could tell, and he vaguely remembered arriving back and helping the others escape from the AcceleDrome, but the rest was a blank still.

He gave the others a quick recap of what he could remember of those times, but Agura could tell he was still frustrated with what he couldn't. She took his hand and said, "You'll remember Vert, don't worry. Look at all you have remembered so far! Maybe we'll find something once we get to Highway 35 that will jumpstart the rest of them." Vert attempted to smile and said, "Thanks Agura, I hope you're right."

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Vert and the others reached Highway 35, and began their journey along it. Suddenly up ahead, Vert saw a Racing Drones' Sweeper vehicle! "Sage put, on the breaks!" he said. She did, seeing what caught his attention she watched it. The others came to see why they had stopped and joined them. The Sweeper opened up and Vert saw his friends pile out!

"What are they doing with a Sweeper?" He asked no one in particular. The others looked confused and Spinner said, "They who?" "My friends I raced with." "I think the better question iz why are they here still? Didn't you say you blew up the base?" Tezz asked. "Maybe they're looking for Vert. After all he might not have ever seen them after that, which means whatever happened to you happened shortly after that." Agura stated.

Sage nodded and said, "It's possible. Let me see if I can pick up their conversation." She pushed a few buttons and suddenly Kurt's voice came over the speaker. "This was right where we found Sparky after he pushed the EDR, Vert would have come here if he pushed it again." Vert felt a bit guilty. His friends had been worried about him while he had all but forgotten them. Granted he had a memory suppressor, but still.

"What's our move?" asked AJ. Vert replied, "I really would like to let them know I am okay, but I don't know how Tezla will react to knowing there are other beings besides the Accelerons out there. Even if Sage were to hide in her cube form, I wouldn't even begin to know how to explain all of this, let alone what happened to me six months ago." He looked at Sage, waiting for her to suggest something.

"I think I can handle Tezla and his questions, and if I can't I can always knock him out for a little while. Letting your friends know you're alive is more important right now." Vert smiled his gratitude at Sage before saying, "Thank you, alright let's turn the Mobi around so that the door is facing them, then we will come out of cloaking and I will go and talk to them."

The others nodded and hurried to follow his instructions. Just as Vert's friends were about to split up looking for him, something huge became visible practically right in front of them. As they were still shocked and confused as to what it was, its door opened and in it stood…. Vert!

"Vert!" They all shouted as one, as he walked down to meet them. He was practically tackled as he joined them, as they all rushed to hug him. His new team stood at the doorway, smiling out. "Where have you been, we've looked everywhere for you!?" Kurt asked. "And what are you doing here now, and what is that?" asked Lani.

Vert laughed, before a serious look came in his eyes as he said, "To tell you the truth, I'm not really sure what happened to me, and up until a few days ago I didn't remember anything true about my life, minus these past six months. When my memory started to return, we headed here since I could remember Highway 35. As for what that is, it's the Mobi, short for Mobious Command Center."

"Who is this we?" asked Shirako, whose music was actually off for once. Vert motioned for the others standing in the Mobi's doorway to come down. "This is the we. Everyone meet Agura, Sherman, Spinner, Zoom, Stanford, Tezz and A.J. Guys, meet the Teku, Maniacs, Lani and Tezla." After greetings were exchanged, Vert saw Sage waiting at the door, and said, "And this is who restored my memory in a sense. Everyone, meet Sage."

Vert heard Tezla gasp, and say with awe, "An Acceleron!" "Not quite, I am a Blue Sentient, though much like the Accelerons, my people built other worlds. Those are called Battle Zones and are for another day. Perhaps the rest of you can help Vert remember what he can't." Vert quickly explained about the cloaker and memory repressor to the others, to which Tezla asked if he could see it.

When he saw it, he said, "It looks like something the Silencerz might have built. And with that, the rest of Vert's memory clicked into place. He didn't tell the others, for he remembered just who had done this to him. His dad.


	4. Chapter 4

When he finally could get Sage alone, he said, "I know who did to me and I know why, in a way." "Who Vert?" "My dad. See he one of the leaders of the Silencerz who we raced against unbeknownst to us, for quite some time. When we did discover them, we never saw their faces. After I beat Gelorum I met an Acceleron who gave me the Wisdom Ring, he also offered me a chance to race against him, but I had to go back and help the others."

"After I helped them escape, I somehow ended up at the Silencerz base, which after talking to Lani I think I know why that was. Gig, Dr. Tezla's robot, worked for the Silencerz and he told them to leave the AcceleDrome, as he was about to blow it. He must have set it to take them home or maybe even it was set just for me."

"Anyways, once there one of them revealed himself to be my dad. "He told me we needed to talk, but I shut him down. I was so angry at him for keeping this a secret, for what he did to my friends and me so that his team could win, for trying to convince me to quit racing with the Teku just so I would be out of the way. I told him I didn't want to talk to him and that the first chance I got to leave, I was going for it. They had possession of the Wheel, AcceleChargers and Wisdom Ring, having taken them from my car, so I knew I had to get out so I could get the others back there, wherever there was. Soon after that, one of the Technicians came to see me, and the next thing I remember I am waking up in Handler's Corners."

"So what is your plan then Vert?" she asked him. He sighed and said, "I don't know what my plan is Sage. I don't want to tell the others that it's my father that we will have to face to get the Wheel, AcceleChargers and Wisdom Ring from, but at the same time I can't send them in unprepared. My father will definitely reveal himself to them, if he thinks it can help his cause. If him and the other Silencerz are even still here, who knows if they have gone on to see what the Wisdom Ring unlocks."

"I think it's best that you do tell them Vert. They won't judge you because it's your father, you have no control over him. And like you said, they need to be prepared to see that. The question is are you ready to? Cause unless you aren't, I won't even think about destroying that device to lead them to you." "I think I am, he has a lot to answer for, and you're right I got to, I just really don't want to."

"Sage." He continued, "Once you break the device, I want you to go a safe distance from here and stay clocked in the Mobi, I don't want them going after the Battle Zones next, or your fellow Sentients and you. Best that you remain a secret." She nodded before saying, "Come, let's gather all your friends and tell them what you remember."

They did that, and once Vert had told them everything about his time apart from them both while Racing Gelorum and right after the AcceleDrome explosion, they all just sat there. Finally Taro said, "So when should we expect them to come knocking? Cause I got a few things I would like to take up with them myself." Vert smiled gratefully at him before saying, "As soon as Sage destroys the device they implanted in me, that should bring them running. Nobody mention Sage or her kind to them, they are already chasing down the Accelerons for whatever reason, no need to have them going after the Sentients as well."

The others nodded their agreement, before Lani said, "We're going to need more cars, I know you said you have seven and we have three, but that's only ten cars to their however many." "Right cause there is no way I am being left out of this one." Said Kurt. "Monkey man can drive the Sweeper." Said Porkchop, "Nolo and Tork can drive the two cars we built so far." "Lani can drive my car." Said Tezla. "So that leaves us with needing six cars." Kurt said.

"How long will that take to get?" asked Vert. "To get? Not long if we go to the Cube. I stored some in a lower layer." Tezla said. The other Acceleracers looked at him and Monkey said, "It took us months to build those two cars and now you tell us you have others!" "Well they're really prototypes of the first cars." Tezla stuttered.

Karma made a disgusted ugh sound and said, "Come on let's just go get them, we can hash this out later." "Dr. Tezla can stay with me in the Mobi while all this is going on." Sage offered, to which Tezla's eyes lit up and Vert could already see the gears working in his mind on what to ask her. Everyone headed out, minus Sage, Tezla and Sparky whom also joined them. She would wait until Vert told her they were ready before smashing the device.

Once they got to the Cube, the Battle Force 5 members looked around in awe and the ruined shell of the building, while the Acceleracers and Vert looked for the switch to get down into the lower layer. None of them had ever been down there or even knew it existed, so it took a while, but Monkey finally accidently found it when he leaned against a stack of boxes to take a break.

Once down there they found all the cars they could ever possibly needed and got busy doing some quick customizations on them. Those already with vehicles helped out. Once they were completed and upstairs, they sealed the entrance again and left the Cube. When they were in the middle of nowhere, Vert contacted Sage and said, "Okay Sage, destroy it then send it to me."

Sage followed his instructions and soon the device was with him, just in case it had a tracker to find him by. They sat back and waited patiently, but they didn't have long to wait. Not even 15 minutes later and they caught sight of several Silencerz' cars. Vert took a calming breath, anxious about this meeting he was about to have with his father, for he was sure he was in this group.

Then he pushed the comms and said, "Can everyone hear me?" Once he had an affirmative from each of the driver's he said, "Hold off on attacking them, maybe, though I doubt it, we can settle this without a fight." Once again everyone gave an affirmative and just then, the Silencerz reached them and stopped. Vert's dad got out of the car, without his helmet, probably hoping that Vert hadn't told them yet.

Vert switched on the mic on his suit and got out and walked towards his dad, that way everyone could hear what was said. When they were in talking distance, Vert's dad said, "It's nice to see you're doing so well and that you found your friends." "Save it dad. I know what you did to me. You had my friends worried over me, why did you do it?"

Vert's dad got a cross expression on his face at his son's words, and he replied, "Josef Wheeler, that is no way to talk to your father." Markie mouthed Josef to Kurt, whose car was beside his. "Maybe if you had acted like a real father I wouldn't have to, what kind of dad essentially takes away a kids memory for no reason?" Vert through back.

"I did it because you refused to cooperate with me." He dad said. "I'm a bit old for a timeout dad, especially one like that. You took what was mine from me, why don't you give it back. It's obvious if your still here that you have had no luck with it." A look crossed his dad's face that let him know he was right, but he quickly was back to a stoic expression as he said, "They are not yours either."

Suddenly in Vert's head, he heard the voice of the Acceleron he had met. "Acceleracer, think about the items and they will come to you, for you are the one they truly belong to." As quickly as it had come, the voice left, leaving Vert to wonder if he had even really heard him, but it was definitely worth a shot. "Not mine huh? I am the one who won two of those and retrieved the others after they were stolen. They are more mine then yours." As he spoke about them, he concentrated on them.

Suddenly the Wheel and Wisdom Ring appeared in his hands, while the AcceleChargers appeared in the Saber. "What?!" His dad yelled, lunging towards his son to try to get them away. Vert jumped back, and placed them in his car, climbing in after them. He slammed his car into reverse as the others who were with him found their voices and said things like "Dude", and "Go Vert!" and "How the heck did you do that?!"

Vert laughed and said, "I'll tell you after we ditch these guys." The others fell in behind Vert, ready to block the Silencerz if they needed to. Monkey was waiting for them a short distance away. Sage had installed a cloaker and one of the storage devices like she used on the Mobi. As Vert approached, Monkey open the Sweeper's door and Vert drove in.

He bailed out quickly, taking the Wheel, Chargers, and Wisdom Ring with him. Kurt and Taro had followed him on this time, and Monkey quickly cloaked the Sweeper as the others drove by. Taro and Kurt each took one of the items as Monkey shrunk down their cars. The plan was for a few to break off from the group at a time and head back this way, with Agura, Stanford and Tezz staying out the whole time.

Once everyone else was safe those three would cloak themselves and go silent. They would make their way back to the Sweeper and join them as they could. Tork, Nolo and Shirako were the next three to arrive, followed by Sherman and Spinner, Zoom and Porkchop. Next came AJ, Markie and Karma, and when their vehicles were safely away, Vert said into his mic, "Okay Agura, you three go invisible and make your way back to us."

"Got it Vert." She relayed the message to Tezz and Stanford, and on cue all three of them went invisible. The Silencerz could pick them up on their scanners and one of the first things the three did was drive to a big section of rock, so that they didn't leave any trail behind. They finally got back to Vert and the others, where they watched the Silencerz until they gave up and went back to their base.

Only then did they dare moved and they kept themselves cloaked all the way back to the Mobi. Once there, everyone took turns recounting what happened. When they got to the part where the things they were after just appeared in Vert's hands, Tezla stopped them and asked Vert, "How did you do that?" Vert explained about hearing the voice while he was arguing with his dad, and how he decided it couldn't hurt to try.

"So not only does Vert get the title of fastest driver in the world, but he also gets the title of true Acceleracer? Just put me out of my misery now." Kurt jokingly complained. The others laughed and Vert was thankful to Kurt for drawing the attention off of him that way. But Vert really was curious as to why the items decided to obey his call.


	5. Chapter 5

The outfitted all the cars with Nitrox2, showing the Battle Force 5 members how it worked. Vert meanwhile studied the Wheel and Ring with Tezla and Sage. They seemed like they belonged together, but they couldn't figure out how. Finally Vert said, "Maybe it's like the ring trick with magicians." He grabbed the Wheel and the Ring in a hand each, and hit them together.

Sure enough the rings merged, the Wisdom Ring having expanded just a bit to wrap around the outside of the Wheel. The two started to slow down and Tezla started scanning for a portal, while Vert said into his mic, "Guys I hope you got all the Nitrox2 installed, because the Wheel and Ring are doing something."

"Just finished up Vert. Everyone to your vehicles." Lani shouted. Everyone hurried to do as she said, nobody wanted to miss this. "The portal will open up a mile down the road from here." Tezla said, "Wait for my signal before pushing your Nitrox2." Vert wished he had the helmet the Acceleron had given him and then he thought, maybe it will work on it the way it worked on the other stuff. So he thought about it and sure enough, it appeared in his hands.

"Sweet!" he said as he put it on. The others revved up their engines and prepared to move out. "Remember guys, there are no teams this time, just like when you went after Markie." Vert said over the comms, "Who knows what's on the other side of that portal." "Right Vert." Both Nolo and Tork said, leaving no doubt in the other racers minds that that is what they were to do.

"Let's go!" said Vert, and everyone put the pedal to the metal. As they were approaching the spot, the Ring stopped rotating and the portal was ready for them. "Push your Nitrox2… now!" Tezla commanded. All the drivers did it, practically as one. Battle Force 5, minus Tezz, were all showing how psyched they were to be doing this, though that is not to say he wasn't just as enthusiastic about this as the others.

Soon they entered the portal, and Vert recognized it immediately as the one where he met the Acceleron. "This is beautiful!" Agura said in awe, and there were murmurs of agreement from the other drivers as well. In the distance, Vert could see the circle which the Acceleron had come out of appearing. "This is like a walk in the park without them Drones butting in." Monkey said.

"Umm the Drones may not be butting in, but we've got company!" Karma stated. The others looked in their rearview mirrors and saw the Silencerz. Vert groaned. He must have tipped them off when he took his helmet. Hopefully they hadn't noticed Sage and the Mobi and they hadn't gone after Dr. Tezla in the Sweeper.

"We got this Vert, just keep driving." Taro said. As if on cue, all the others slowed down, putting several walls of cars between Vert and them. Vert put his foot down on the gas and pulled away, glancing back over his shoulder as he did. "Are you guys sure about this?" he asked. "Just do it, Surf Rat." Kurt said. Vert chuckled and said, "For that Kurt. I'm not bringing you back a souvenir." Kurt laughed as Vert reached the portal and drove in.

The others drove as slow as they could to give Vert as much of a head start as possible, but they finally hit the portal…and went right through! "What the…" Tork said. "Why didn't we go into the new realm?" asked Monkey. They braked and the Silencerz behind them did as well. A soft voice said, "You have not been named true Acceleracers, therefore you cannot enter. Your friend will return to you when he is done there, whether he wins or lose."

Then they were surrounded by silence. "So what do we do for now?" asked Shirako, who put his tunes on low just to hear something, but still have it so he could hear the others. Agura shrugged her shoulders and said, "I have no idea, let's see what move the Silencerz make and base our decision off of that." The others nodded their agreement then sat back to wait.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Vert, meanwhile, was waiting for his friends to come along behind him. When they didn't he tried raising them on his comm, "Lani, Nolo, Tork, Agura? Anyone?" "Your friends could not follow because they are not true Acceleracers." A voice spoke up. The same Acceleron that had given him the Ring, how he knew that he did not know but he knew it was true, floated above him.

"I can't believe you went through all this trouble just to find someone to race, there's more to this isn't there?" Vert asked. "Oh yes, much more. Come, walk with me. Your car will appear when you need it again." He said, as he landed on the ground. Vert, though he was still feeling a bit wary, did as he was asked and got out.

The Acceleron turned and Vert caught up to him as he started to walk away. "Tezla got some of the things right about us. We did build the tracks as a testing ground, but it was to find true Acceleracers, not just any drivers, but the best." "I don't understand, wasn't I just lucky when I won the races I did? Others in my group won legs of the journey and any one of them could have gotten to the Wheel or you first."

The Acceleron smiled, and said, "While in theory that is true, anyone of them could have reached those things first, and even won legs of the journey and AcceleChargers besides you, that still wouldn't have made them true Acceleracers." Vert looked confused at this and said, "What do you mean?"

"Long ago, when we first picked Earth to be the location of the portals, some of our kind went to live among your time during the construction process." Vert saw some Accelerons and what looked like humans walking around and it started to dawn on him as the Acceleron continued, "These Accelerons took the form of you humans and lived among your kind for the rest of their lives, though some did return here as you can see."

"Your mother lived here and was always curious about the human world, I believe because she looked like one of you. So when she turned the age of eighteen in your world, we allowed her to go. She met and fell in love with your father, and they soon got married and had you." "My mom was an Acceleron?!" he asked, surprise and awe filling his voice.

The Acceleron nodded before continuing, "Soon, she found out about your father working for the Silencerz, a group that has long sought out our kind. They have always thought that we are building the tracks to enslave racers who find them, when really all it was originally for was a place for us to race our Drones, before they got to the point where they would do anything to win. Then after a few generations had been on Earth, we decided that we could use it to find out which humans were actually Acceleron descendants."

"While any of those who have been out in the human world long enough, several generations or so, only win the chance to race us; those who are directly or nearly directly, like yourself, win the chance to be told about us, about their parents or grandparents lives here."

"To continue with the story about your parents, your mother tried to convince him not to look for us Accelerons, by saying things like she was worried he wouldn't come home one day and that you wouldn't get to know your father, but it didn't work. So one day, while she was out driving, she faked her death."

"You mean…" "That's right Vert, I'm alive." A voice said behind him. He spun around as tears filled his eyes and he said, "Mom!" The other Acceleron smiled at them and walked away to give them some privacy. "Oh Vert," said Kate Wheeler, "You don't know how much I have wanted to see you, to be with you as you grew up. I wanted to take you with me, but I couldn't break your father like that."

"I just can't believe you're here, that you're alive!" he said, not ashamed of the tears that fell from his eyes onto her back, squeezing her tighter. She softly chuckled and said, "I'm so glad you're not mad at me." "Why couldn't you have stayed mom? Couldn't you have kept a better eye on him if you stayed?"

She sighed and said, "I pushed him too hard to drop it, he stopped telling me about anything he did with the Silencerz. He wasn't too happy when I discovered the clothes and when he felt like I was on their side more than his, I think he started to view me as both a traitor to our world and him, and probably even you too, now that I think about it."

"I don't know if you recall how much we fought right before my "death", but it was almost constant. I couldn't put you through that any longer, and since I couldn't keep tabs on your father here, I faked my death, so I could do it elsewhere. I have been keeping an eye on you too, but it's not the same as actually being there. But what happened, about six months ago I couldn't find you anywhere?"

Vert told her about what his dad did to him, and she sighed. "He probably thought he was protecting you from the Accelerons. He must have known you were getting close to us and thought that if he could get here first then he could keep you safe." "Can't you come back with me mom?" She shook her head and said, "If he found out I was an Acceleron, he might think I was a spy or something."

"Or he could end up seeing you're not that bad. Plus, I'm part Acceleron too, that means he's got to know that you aren't all bad." She laughed, though it held more sorrow then merriment, and said, "He probably would think we were trying to slowly take over the world by weeding out humans. No Vert, its best that I stay here and you keep this knowledge from him. If he changes his mind, once he sees you return unharmed then maybe, but right now, I just can't risk it, risk you."

Vert nodded and said, "So, do I get to race you?" A gleam filled his mother's eyes and a real laugh escaped as she said, "Well you do get to pick, so if you pick me then yes." "What happens if I win?" he asked. "Well if you win, I must give you something, and if you lose you have to give me something. It doesn't have to be an actual object, knowledge is highly held here." Vert nodded and said, "Let's race."


	6. Chapter 6

* can I just say your comment of NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! YOU CAN'T END IT HERE! YOU CAN'T! IT'S CRUEL! YOU HAVE TO KEEP GOING! EVEN IF IT'S JUST FOR ONE DIE-HARD FAN, PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD KEEP GOING OR I'LL FIND YOU AND MAKE YOU. And yes i do like capital letters, brought a smile to my face. I was unable to get to the internet to upload this on Thursday, so enjoy this, the final chapter!

The Acceleron that brought him there set up the course. It was a race through several other realms that Vert had yet to see. He waited for the signal from him, at which both Vert and Kate stepped on the gas. As they raced through the realms, they caught up on what had happened during the six months Vert was missing and the years that Kate was. "So this Agura, does she know that you like her?" Kate asked as they took a hairpin turn.

" …tttt?" Vert stuttered, "How did you know?" His mother laughed and said, "She was the one you mentioned the most, and the way that you mentioned her led me to believe that you two were on the verge of being a thing. So does she know?" "Only if she has guessed it." Vert said as they took another hairpin turn, mother and son matched each other in ability.

"Why haven't you told her? What's holding you back?" Kate asked. "I just don't know if can take me looking so different now that the cloaker is gone. Plus my attitude is a merger now of what I was before that and what I was with her and the others. It's almost like I'm a completely different person." They took a jump while Kate asked, "Has she treated you any different?"

As they landed Vert said, "No, actually, she has treated me with the same respect and everything as before." He heard his mother mutter something like, "Love really is blind." Before she said a little louder, "Hunny, not only do I think she accepts you as you are now, but I think she returns your feelings." "Really?" Vert asked. His mother smiled gently at the unsureness in her son's voice as she said, "Really."

"Well I know one of the first things I will do when I get back is then." What's that?" his mother asked as they entered the final realm. "Either talk to her, or kiss her and let that do the talking." His mother laughed so hard, tears filled her eyes, and Vert took the lead. He held that lead until the end of the race, beating his mother by the length of his car.

"Well you beat me fair and square." His mother said, that means I must give you something, oh Crimson One." Vert laughed, thinking how ironic it was that he had managed to get titles in both groups he had been with. While his mother decided on what to give him, the other Acceleron came down and said, "I have a new title for you, true Acceleracer. You are now labeled as fastest driver in the Racing Realms, having beat the previous holder fair and square, as she said."

Vert looked at his mom, who smiled at his surprised look, and said, "Where do you think you got your love for speed from?" He laughed as the other Acceleron left and his mother walked over to him. "The prize I give you is this cherished memory of mine, one of our happiest moments together as a family." She handed him a disc, to which Vert after taking it, gave her a hug.

She returned the hug and as the broke the embrace, Vert said, "I know I won, but I have something for you." He held out his hand, and when she had placed hers under it, he dropped his shark tooth necklace in it. "I was wearing this, when I started my journey to find you, even if I didn't know it was for that reason then." He said.

His mother's eyes filled with tears and it was her turn to hug first before Vert returned it. They talked for a few minutes more, before the other Acceleron came and said, "It is time for you to go Acceleracer, your friends are waiting for you." Vert sighed and said, "I know." He looked at his mom, not ready to leave her. "You can come back any time you want Vert." She said, "As a true Acceleracer, you need only think of this realm and you'll be here." He and his mom shared a final hug, before he climbed in the Saber to head out.

Then he headed out of the sphere, to his waiting friends and the Silencerz. Agura was the first to spot him and she said, "Vert!" The others looked towards the portal, which was closing, and sure enough Vert was back! They drove over to him, momentarily forgetting the Silencerz. "What happened in there?" "Did you win?" "What are the Accelerons like?"

The questions came at him from all sides and Vert laughed as he said, "Hey Kurt, guess what? I got a new title." A groan from Kurt came across the speakers, causing everyone to laugh, before Kurt said, "I know I am going to regret this, but what is this new title?" "Fastest driver in the Racing Realms." "That's it, my life is officially over. Goodbye cruel world!" Kurt said dramatically.

The others started to laugh, but their banter was cut short by the Silencerz driving up. Vert's dad got out of his vehicle once again, and Vert followed suit. The other Silencerz drove off, and his friends turned off their mics and comms to give them some privacy. Vert's dad looked him up and down as he said, "They didn't harm you?" his voice filling with a bit of surprise.

"No they didn't, why would they?" Vert asked. "They built these tracks to enslave drivers, what other reason could there be?" Jack said. "Maybe they just like to race like me and my friends? After all the whole point was to find someone to race them." Vert said. "That's all you did was race them?" "Well I had to pick who to race, but basically, yes."

Jack stared at his son, not sure what to think anymore. "I need… some time…" he finally said. "I'll be waiting to hear from you dad." Vert said, cautiously stepping forward to give his dad a hug. His dad returned the hug before getting in his car and following the other Silencerz. As Vert headed back to his car, he heard a familiar screeching noise, and not a good familiar.

As he looked around he saw a robot, sailing through the air. Gelorum! She had finally come full circle since the Acceleron sent her flying months ago, and she was still very ticked at Vert. Agura and the other's came back online at practically the same moment as she asked, "What the heck is that?!" "That's Gelorum." Vert said as he ran for the Saber. "That's Gelorum!?" Kurt shouted, "But she looks so…" "Don't ask me how, but all of that was under her fake body," Vert said.

"Battle Force 5," he continued, "This isn't like the Sark, these are much worse, especially Gelorum. Don't expect all our Sark tricks to work on her." "Right Vert." They all replied, getting into their battle positions. "Vert Wheeler, you will suffer for taking away my chance to race the Accelerons!" "You had no chance Gelorum." He shouted back. Just as they were getting ready to o at each other, the portal opened behind Gelorum.

"Racing Drone, we have let you live this long, for we hoped you would mend your way. Now we see that this will never happen." Vert recognized the voice as his mother's. "You are no longer needed." She said. "No!" shouted Gelorum, as her body started to disintegrate. She lunged towards Vert, but before she could reach him she was gone.

Vert looked at his mother and said, "Thank you." "We forgot, there was someone we wanted to return to you." She turned towards the portal and motioned. Out walked a well and whole Kadeem! "Kadeem! All of the Acceleracers shouted, Vert being the first to reach him, tackling him in a bear hug, closely followed by the rest. Kadeem left and said, "Good to see you again, my friends. Thanks to the Accelerons, all the damage the Drones did to me has been reversed."

Kate looked at Markie's arm and said, "We could fix your arm for you if you wish." Markie looked down at it and said, "Thanks, but I'm rather attached to it." The others groaned at Markie's lame attempt at a joke, and Kate smiled and said, "Would you like me to make it look normal and not set off any metal detectors at least?" Markie said, "That would be nice."

Kate waved her hands around his arm a bit, and soon it looked just like his old one. Once done, she waved goodbye to the group and headed back into the portal. Vert put his hand on Kadeem's shoulder and said, "Let's get you home Kadeem. Climb in behind Agura over there." He said, pointing towards the Tangler.

Once everyone was back in their vehicles, they headed for home. Everyone was so excited to see Kadeem and they all listened as he told Tezla about his time with the Accelerons, though he didn't mention any of them being humanoid or having blue skin, so Vert wondered if they ever took of their helmets around him. Vert whispered into Agura's ear, "Walk with me?" She nodded and stepped away from where she was sitting, the two of them slipping off into the night with only Sage the wiser.

When they were a distance away from the others, Vert said, "I have been wanting to do this for a long time." He leaned in slowly, kissing Agura on the lips. After a moment of happy surprise on her part, she returned the kiss. When they finally broke away, she breathlessly said, "I have been waiting for you to do that for a long time."

"I wasn't sure if you would return my feelings, so I didn't want to ruin a good friendship, and just when I had worked up the courage to do it, all this happened and I felt… like I needed to find myself first, if that makes sense." He said. She nodded and said, "It does. No use worrying about how long it took us to get here, at least we finally did."

He murmured his agreement, and they looked into sky, staring at the stars as the cuddled against each other. They knew they would have to return to the others soon, but for now this was their moment to enjoy each other.


End file.
